Well Its Started Already

[Finaddict]

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior

Outer Banks Group:
· Cape Hatteras National Seashore
· Fort Raleigh National
Historic Site
· Wright Brothers National Memorial
1401 National Park Road
Manteo, NC 27954
252-473-2111 phone
252-473-2595 fax

National Park Service News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DATE: March 24, 2009
CONTACT: 252-473-2111, ext. 148

Vandalism of Ocracoke South Point Resource Protection

Closure Signs Results in Expansion of Buffer

On Monday morning, March 23, National Park Service (NPS) staff discovered vandalism of symbolic fencing marking a shorebird pre-nesting closure at the South Point area on Ocracoke Island. Five “Area Closed” signs on 2” X 2” wooden posts were broken off at the sand line. Vehicle tracks were visible at three of the broken signs but no footprints were observed in the area.
As required by the court ordered consent decree, a deliberate act of vandalism to fencing results in a mandatory 50 meter expansion of the closure area. Due to the narrow width of the beach at this location, ORV access is now allowed along the ocean shoreline to the southeast corner of the point, but precluded past that location by the mandatory buffer expansion. Pedestrian access below the high tide line is permitted past the buffer expansion along portions of the inlet shoreline outside of the established pre-nesting area.
Superintendent Mike Murray reiterated the need for all parties, including the public, to comply with the consent decree requirements. “This deliberate act of vandalism is contemptible and appears to be aimed at reducing access for the many park visitors who do comply with park regulations. This is an early reminder that future acts of intentional vandalism to resource protection areas will result in greater expansion of the buffers as required under the consent decree,” stated Murray.
In 2008 the park experienced six deliberate violations of resource protection areas and each time the buffers were expanded. Destruction of government property and entering a resource closure are federal criminal violations, each subject up to a $5,000. fine and up to six months imprisonment. If anyone has information about this violation, please call National Park Service Law Enforcement Rangers at 252-928-5111.
For up-to-date information on currently open or closed areas, check the Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Google Earth maps at: http://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/googleearthmap.htm

-NPS-

[DarkSkies]

Wonder if the vandals may not have been kids, but someone who wanted the closure to be bigger than it is? Food for thought.

[clamchucker]

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior

Vandalism of Ocracoke South Point Resource Protection

Closure Signs Results in Expansion of Buffer

. This is an early reminder that future acts of intentional vandalism to resource protection areas will result in greater expansion of the buffers as required under the consent decree,” stated Murray.
http://www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/googleearthmap.htm

-NPS-

This seems to me a case of blaming the users for the actions of a few. It's almost like where a bank is a victim of a lot of robberies, so it imposes higher fees on the bank customers.

[DarkSkies]

On another site Gunny was talking about the ELF, environmental liberation front. Said they are a group of nuts who will do whatever it takes to keep people out of an area. There's no way to know who could have done this, it could have just been nuts who were looking to mess things up for people, or maybe they were just kids vandalizing stuff.


(For those who don't know Gunny, he was somewhere else, and he and a bunch of surf nuts started one of the best new sites out there for the most hardcore guys, not for beginners, but guys who are obsessive enough to fish for bass 24/7. The guy knows more about catching bass, and the past and future possibilities for steiped bass, than most anyone I know except Joe. Maybe I can talk more about this in another post.)

[cowherder]

So what can we do about this finaddict, any suggestions?

[skinner]

The fishermen are always the ones to suffer. Dark has a good question, what are some suggestions to stop this?